Al-Halqa 5 - Ibn Hubbak Lillah 'Ala Asas Salima

We mentioned in the previous station that (Al-Habsharti) conditions his love for Allah 'Azza wa Jall with the continuity of worldly blessings. Therefore, he builds this house - meaning (love of Allah) - on foundations. These foundations are: wealth, health, freedom, family stability, social status. But, notice with me: All these worldly foundations... aren't they subject to disappearance? Isn't this (Al-Habsharti) threatened at any moment: By poverty = loss of wealth By illness = loss of health By imprisonment = loss of freedom By problems = loss of stability What will happen then if he is afflicted with the loss of one of these foundations? The house will tilt and collapse. The conditional love of Allah in the heart of this servant, Al-Habsharti, will collapse! Because he built it on foundations that can disappear at any moment. Therefore, how do I know if my love for Allah 'Azza wa Jall is threatened with disappearance at any moment? How do I know if I have built it on worldly foundations? Indeed, affliction helps you with that a lot, and this is one of Allah's blessings upon you in affliction. When you are afflicted and call upon Allah 'Azza wa Jall, asking Him to remove the affliction and restore the blessings, Allah may decree that your affliction continues, prolongs, and intensifies. Then, you will know if your love for Allah is conditional upon these worldly interests.

I faced a trial where I was suddenly deprived of: my freedom, my family, my children, my friends, my money, my job... suddenly! Then I called upon Allah, but He decreed that my affliction would last longer than I thought. This truly put me in front of the important question: Now, after being deprived of these things, do I still love Allah 'Azza wa Jall? This question helped me diagnose the extent of (Al-Habshartiya) in myself; to rebuild my love for Allah on the correct, solid foundations. I ask you by Allah: Are you ready to buy a house to live in if you know that this house is built on weak foundations that can collapse and disappear at any moment? So what do you think about the love of Allah 'Azza wa Jall, for which we live, or rather, for which we were created? For our Lord created us to worship Him, and worship is love, glorification, and obedience. So are you ready to gamble with the love of Allah 'Azza wa Jall and build it on foundations that can disappear at any moment? Therefore, you must build the love of Allah in your heart on solid foundations. What are these foundations? Many... including: 1. Certainty of Allah's right to worship due to His greatness, contemplating Allah's names and attributes, and pondering their effects in reality. This is the greatest foundation in building love for Allah. 2. Attaching the heart to the Hereafter and its blessings. 3. Recognizing Allah's blessing of guidance. 4. Gratitude to Allah for what He has blessed you with in the past, regardless of the present and future. 5. Remembering that Allah's blessings upon you are countless, no matter what affliction or calamity befalls you, and no matter what you lose, you are still immersed in His favor, but you have become accustomed to the blessings you are in now that you no longer feel them. 6. Contemplating stations of Allah's mercy upon you, His averting of evils from you, His preparation of causes for your guidance, His covering of your faults, His surrounding you with people who love you, and all the good that comes from them is from Allah... contemplate that in the stations of your life... - As for myself, I reviewed them one by one during my affliction, and I recited Surah (Al-Dhuha) with them, which brought me pleasure, tranquility, and a feeling of Allah's companionship with me and that He, the Exalted, wants good for me. 7. What Allah blesses you with, if you accept it, from the deeds of the heart, no matter the circumstances, such as contentment, longing for Allah, intimacy with Allah, and His speech (the Quran). We will talk, with Allah's permission, about some of these foundations in upcoming stations.

Therefore, these are fixed things that do not disappear: Allah's names and attributes, the expected Hereafter, the blessings of the past, the fact that you will remain immersed in Allah's blessings no matter what He takes from you... these things do not change, they are not threatened with disappearance... build your love for Allah upon them while you are confident and assured. As for what is newly bestowed upon you - in the present and future - of new blessings and the lifting of affliction; these all increase your love for Allah 'Azza wa Jall, but they are not a condition for the existence of this love. It may be said: But Allah 'Azza wa Jall has legislated the winning of people's hearts by giving them some of the blessings of this world. It is known that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave a large portion of the spoils to those whose hearts were to be won, for polytheists whom the Messenger of Allah wanted to attract to Islam. Indeed, one of the categories of zakat is (those whose hearts are to be won)? True... but this winning of people's hearts with worldly blessings is temporary; until the psychological barrier between the heedless heart and Islam is removed, until the veil is lifted from his sight to see the truth of the religion, and the brightness of faith mingles with his heart, so he no longer cares - thereafter - whether he is given or deprived. In the hadith narrated by Imam Muslim from Anas, he said: (If a man were to submit to Islam for nothing but the world, he would not submit until Islam becomes more beloved to him than the world and what is upon it). (If a man were to submit to Islam for nothing but the world): meaning pure Al-Habsharti! And he only shows Islam for the sake of the world... (So he does not submit): meaning he does not linger after his Islam but a little until his chest expands with the truth of faith and he gains control of his heart, so he becomes more beloved to him than the world. Therefore, his love for Allah has turned into a true love built on solid foundations. As for living one's entire life as a life of those whose hearts are won, this is a dangerous and unacceptable situation! Because his love for Allah is threatened with disappearance at any moment. When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) died and some groups apostatized, what happened? Those whose hearts were won from the people of Mecca, whom the Messenger of Allah had won over, but after that, they built their love for Allah on solid foundations, were the black banners of Islam who fought for him during the apostasy, sacrificing their lives, blood, and wealth. While those who remained (Al-Habsharti) attached to the world apostatized when they were exposed to the trial of the Prophet's death and the rebellion of the leaders. Indeed, the stability of this concept in our minds - unconditional love of Allah - gives us a deeper understanding of many truths of our religion. For example: When we read the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: (The most beloved actions to Allah are the most continuous, even if they are few) One of the reasons for this may be: That frequent obedience that is often interrupted is often a defense against a trial or temporary joy in a new blessing, especially if it is followed by severe neglect in obedience. As for continuous acts of obedience, they are usually born from a stable love in the heart that is not affected by pleasant or sad events. Therefore, my brother and sister: If you find in yourself this dangerous disease: (conditional love of Allah), you must acknowledge it and strive to cure it; for it is more dangerous than any worldly calamity; because it is a calamity in religion, and a defect in what we live for.

Summary of this station:

Get rid of the disease of (Al-Habshartiya) And build your love for Allah on solid foundations that do not disappear with changes.